The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) has entered into a station-area funding agreement with the city of Burbank, Calif., to begin the planning process for a multimodal transportation hub, the authority announced yesterday.

The new facility would incorporate the proposed high-speed rail station, the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, Amtrak and Metrolink stations, bus services, ride share, and other transportation adjacent to the Burbank Bob Hope Airport, CHRSA officials said in a press release.

The funding agreement allows Burbank and the CHSRA to start studying ways to enhance multimodal connections between the station, the San Fernando Valley and the region, CHSRA officials said.

Source: California High-Speed Rail Authority

"The San Fernando Valley is long overdue for a major infrastructure investment of this magnitude," said CHSRA's Southern California Regional Director Michelle Boehm. "This agreement creates a unique regional planning opportunity that will help facilitate development of a world class transportation hub, increase the quality and types of transportation choices available to residents and visitors to the San Fernando Valley, and makes significant progress in bringing high-speed rail to the region."

As part of the agreement, Burbank will receive $800,000 to explore options and seek public input for station-area design and development. The money will support planning efforts focused on both the integration of the high-speed rail station into the region and the analysis of opportunities to promote economic development and sustainable community strategies, CHSRA officials said.

The agency provides station-area funds through a combination of federal and state funds to help partner cities conduct planning efforts and develop conceptual designs to provide connections between high-speed rail station areas and the communities around them. Other partner cities that have entered into similar agreements include Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield, Gilroy and Palmdale, Calif.